Monday, August 04, 2014

Taking down I-280 to replicate Octavia Blvd.

It's like a bad joke, a parody of government obtuseness and incompetence. Got this message from the city's Planning Department, which evidently thinks Octavia Boulevard is such a great success that it will be doing studies to "replace the elevated portion of I-280 north of Mariposa or 16th Street with a surface boulevard, similar to the Embarcadero or Octavia Boulevard, including improved circulation and connections throughout the area." (A map of the targeted area.)

"Hi, I'm from the Planning Department, and I've come to improve traffic circulation throughout this area just like we did in Hayes Valley with Octavia Boulevard." Octavia is now a street that carries 63,000 vehicles a day to and from the freeway through the heart of that neighborhood, creating an area-wide traffic jam for most of the day (see pages 9 and 10 of the 2012 Central Freeway and Octavia Circulation Study for the horrific traffic numbers for that area).

And the worst is yet to come for that part of the city, with the UC development on lower Haight Street (440 housing units on six acres, 1,000 new residents a block off Octavia), and the Market/Octavia Plan (4,440 housing units, 10,000 new residents), including a number of residential highrises at Market and Van Ness.

And this:

SGC[Strategic Growth Council] has awarded $490,000 through their Sustainable Communities Planning Grant Program, which funds climate action plans, infill development plans, sustainable community strategies, and other planning efforts, all specifically aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions consistent with state climate goals. Also awarded through this program were Urban Greening Grants, which establish or enhance community green areas such as urban forests, open spaces, wetlands, and community gardens.

All the trendy bullshit jammed into one paragraph: sustainable, climate action, community, greenhouse gas emissions, greening, urban forests, community gardens, etc., providing planners with a verbal apotheosis. Making that part of the city a better place, just like Octavia Boulevard!

Yes, an incantation of all the magic words of the eco-faith that are designed to bewitch, mesmerize and otherwise numb the mind through constant repetition. The green religion requires its own submissive supplicants and blind believers, thoughtful participation not welcome!